All Falls Down
by ThnksFrThMmrs87
Summary: The case haunted Stella, and she would do anything to solve it; but Flack could see that she was putting herself in danger in the process, and nothing mattered more than saving her from herself. Now Complete
1. Too Far

Note from the Author-- Okay, so I'm really not sure where I'm going with this one. I'm not terribly thrilled with the way this first chapter has come out, but I'm also incapable of walking away from it. So we'll see what happens.

Disclaimer-- I don't own the characters of CSI: NY, nor do I own the Kanye West song All Falls Down, which the title of this piece is taken from.

Mac was surprised when he saw the light glowing from Stella's office. It was well past midnight and her shift had ended hours before. Curious, he made his way over to see what was going on. When he saw her he knew immediately, and he realized that he should have known. She was perusing the file of an outstanding case, one that had been eating at them all for months now.

"You should go home," he told her, walking in to take a seat at her desk.

When she looked up her eyes were haunted. "I will, eventually."

Reaching across the desk, he flipped the file around so he could look at it. He'd seen it so many times, they all had, and still no one had been brought to justice. "This is a bad one."

"It's just…. We know this guy did it Mac. All of us know in our hearts, in our guts that he did it. Jason Manes killed three women because of the color of their skin, decorated them with swastikas and left them to rot, and we can't get the bastard. How is this even possible?"

Mac ran a hand over his tired face. "I wish I knew Stella. We do the best we can, and there's just no evidence on this one. We all want to get this guy just as bad as you do, but you can't let it eat at you this way. Go home." He stood. "Get some sleep." She nodded in agreement and said goodnight as he left, but it was hours more before she turned off the light and left the lab.

The next day she was called to a scene with Danny and Flack, and though she was sagging under the weight of sheer exhaustion she downed somewhere in the neighborhood of five cups of coffee and dragged herself to the scene. Neither man at the scene missed the fatigue written on her features, but she blew past them and started processing before either could say anything, though not before a worried look could pass between them.

"You noticed how she's been lately?" Danny asked; his voice barely louder than a whisper.

Flack nodded. "It's the Manes case. It's tearing her apart that we can't nail the sadistic bastard."

"More like consuming her from the inside out. Have you taken a good look at her lately? She's not healthy, man."

"I know." He spent a great deal of his life taking a good look at Stella Bonasera, and Danny knew that better than anyone. He'd noticed the changes long before Danny had. He and Mac had talked about it over a month before, but now the entire team had noticed. Hell, even Adam had expressed his concern for her in recent days. She was a great deal too thin, she was entirely too pale and bags had taken up permanent residence under her eyes. He glanced over at her and shook his head. "I just hope we can figure it out soon, because I'm not sure how much longer she can keep going this way."

Stella knew she was obsessing. She knew she wasn't taking care of herself and she knew that everyone was worrying about her; she wasn't a CSI for no reason after all. Even still, she couldn't get her mind of the case. Three vibrant young women's lives had been taken from them for no other reason than a man was hateful and ignorant, and she couldn't prove it. For now Jason Manes was under careful observation and behaving, but it was only a matter of time before the higher ups would start to see the whole exercise as futile, and eventually he wouldn't be watched any longer; and then, Stella was sure, more women would die.

Doubt about what she'd been doing had been nagging at the back of her mind, but she couldn't seem to stop herself. She knew it was a dangerous road to go down, but if it could help, if it could put Jason Manes behind bars she was willing to try. This one had gotten under her skin and wouldn't leave. It wasn't often that someone slipped through their fingers, especially not someone who had done something as horrendous as this guy, and she hated it. She hated that she couldn't bring down justice for these girls and their families, that she couldn't give them closure. So here she was, putting her job and her well-being on the line in the search for justice.

When her phone went off, Stella sighed. "Bonasera," she answered. "Yeah Adam, I'll be right there." Figuring she'd only be gone for a few minutes, she left her files sitting there, and with one last regretful look she headed to see a lab rat.

Adam kept her longer than she expected, but he had basically broken their latest case and for that she was grateful. With one more case out of the way it gave her more time to focus on the Manes case, and the more time she had the better. Yet as she approached her office she saw Danny leaning over the desk and her heart leaped to her throat. Picking up the pace she prepared herself for damage control.

She didn't have time for damage control. Danny heard her coming and turned to face her and her heart sank when she saw the picture in his hand. "Danny…"

"What the hell is this Stella? You've been watching this guy?"

"Danny, it isn't as bad as it looks. You're overreacting here."

He slammed the picture down onto the table. "Overreacting? Stella do you have any clue what you've gotten yourself into?"

"I know what I'm doing," she told him, going on the defensive.

"Like Aiden did?"

The blow was a direct hit, and she felt it in her heart. "Danny."

He shook his head. "No Stella. Aiden thought she knew what she was doing, and she got trapped. We caught the guy, but we lost her in the process. I can't believe that you don't have enough respect for her or yourself to remember that."

"I'm not going to end up in the morgue Danny," she said quietly.

He was already halfway to the door. "Aiden didn't think she would either." Then he was gone, and Stella was left there, torn.

Flack was leaving the station late that night when his phone rang. "What do you want Messer, I'm tired."

He could hear the edge of fear and worry in his friend's voice when he spoke, but he still couldn't seem to believe what he was hearing. "She what? No way Danny, she wouldn't, not after what happened."

And yet he was completely insistent, after all he'd seen it with his own eyes. "Damn it, she would. The way this case has been eating at her she would." Flack leaned his forehead against the hood of the car. "Damn it, I've got to talk to her. I'll see what I can do Dan."

Don slid into the driver's seat and when he got going immediately directed himself towards Stella's. As he drove his mind wandered, thinking about Stella, as he frequently was. Before the Manes case they had been getting a lot closer, sharing drinks and dinner more frequently and generally turning to each other as friends and confidantes. Things had been progressing from friendship to something more, and then the case had come along. It hadn't taken long for them to realize they had absolutely nothing they could pin Manes with, and when they had everything had changed. Stella had pulled away from him and everyone else, and solving the case had become the only priority for her.

He tuned back in; sighing when he realized he was pulling up to Stella's building. He wasn't sure exactly what he was going to say, but he parked and headed in anyway. When he reached her door he knocked softly and waited for her to answer.

It didn't take long for Stella to come to the door, and when Flack saw her his heart almost broke. She looked so tired, her beautiful face bordering on gaunt. What bothered him the most was that she was losing so much of what made her beautiful on the inside. "Don? What's going on?"

"Can I come in Stell?" he asked.

She nodded and stepped aside so he could pass her. Closing the door behind them, she watched as he took off his jacket and rolled the sleeves up. He was settling in, and she sighed when she realized it. "Danny told you," she said.

"Yeah," he told her. Trying to keep calm, he turned to face her. "What are doing Stell?" he asked quietly.

"I'm going to make sure we get this guy Don, I have to."

He shook his head. "So you're going to do it the way that got Aiden killed?"

"I'm not Aiden."

"No, you're not, but don't you get it?"

She turned her back on him, unable to deal with the intensity he was directing towards her. "This is important to me Don. I can't stand those three families never having justice for what happened to their daughters and sisters and wives."

He could feel his temper flaring but tried to tamp it down as he came up behind her, resting his hands on her arms. "This isn't healthy." His hands circled her arms and he was shocked to the core when his fingers met easily. "Damn it Stell do you see what you're doing to yourself.?"

"I'm fine Don."

"Fine?" He wanted to shake her; decided she may actually fall apart if he did. "This is not fine." One hand squeezed lightly around her arm while the other traveled down to her hips. His heart dropped again when he pressed against her skin and realized that one hand spanned her body from one hip bone to the other. "When was the last time you ate a decent meal? When was the last time you got a good night's sleep?"

It was as if all of the energy drained from her. She leaned back against him and his arms came around her waist. She let him hold her, her eyes falling closed. "I don't know. I don't know anything anymore Don."

"Let this go Stell, please."

"I can't, you know I can't."

Flack turned her in his arms so he could look into her eyes. "If you won't back away from the case then please stop following this guy. We can't lose you too. I can't lose you."

She nodded. "I know it's too much, and I know it's dangerous. I will."

"Promise me."

"I promise you, I'll stop."

Breathing a sigh of relief, he bent to press a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Thank you."

She nodded, taking a shaky breath as she leaned fully against him. "I'm so tired," she whispered.

"I know." As much as he wished he could keep her there forever, there were other priorities to be attended to. "Let me make you something to eat and we'll see if that helps you get some sleep."

"You don't have to do that Don."

He pulled back so he could see her again and couldn't help but brush a hand over her cheek. "I want to Stell. I miss you."

"I miss you too," she said quietly.

He wanted her, he always did. It had stunned him the first time he realized that he wanted to take her in his arms, make love to her and never let her go. But that had been years before, and he'd become accustomed to the feeling now. Yet now still wasn't the time, so he settled for kissing her temple one last time as he eased away and made himself comfortable in his kitchen.

He made something simple; there was a can of soup in her cupboard and it was easy enough to pour it out and heat it up. He headed back into the living room with a full bowl and couldn't hold back a smile when he saw that she was curled up on the couch fast asleep. The soup went back to the kitchen and Flack came back to ease Stella into his arms. He felt another twinge when he realized just how light she was, but with any luck he could encourage her to fix that. When he reached her bedroom he settled her as gently as he could, pulling the covers up over her body.

Don left a note on the side of her bed, urging her to actually have breakfast in the morning, adding a comment that coffee didn't count. Brushing a hand over her hair, he slipped out and left her to sleep.


	2. Falling Apart

Disclaimer—I don't own the characters of CSI: NY

Stella bolted awake the next morning when her alarm went off. Groping for the off button, her hand found the piece of paper on her bedside table and as soon as she silenced the shrill beeping that had invaded her dreams she picked it up and read the note.

_Stell, _

_You fell asleep before I could feed you, do me and yourself a favor and eat breakfast when you get up._

_P.S. Coffee doesn't count_

_Don_

She couldn't help but smile; she could almost hear his voice in her head when she was reading through his note. It touched her that he was so willing to be there for, but she couldn't help but feel a little bit guilty. Before the Manes case she and Don had been bordering on inseparable. She'd actually been debating whether or not to finally ask him for a real date when it had come up, and everything had gone to hell.

Sighing quietly she threw back the covers and climbed out of bed. Though she hated to admit it, she was a little bit disappointed that Flack hadn't stuck around. Still, she knew that it wouldn't be fair to expect him to sleep on the couch just because he was worried about her.

Remembering the note, she went to the kitchen to see if there was anything even remotely resembling food in her apartment. After rifling through her cabinets and fridge Stella managed to dig up an English muffin that she toasted and slathered with jam. Seeing her woefully stocked kitchen made her realize exactly how little she'd eaten in the past few weeks, and she made a mental note to actually go to the store. She realized how worried everyone was for her, and though she knew she wouldn't be able to let go of the case entirely she could try to back away a bit, for her own health and well-being; she also knew just how difficult that would be.

When Flack ran into Stella in the lab later that day he couldn't help but to ask the question that had been in his head all day long. "You eat this morning?"

She flashed him a small smile. "Yes, I did."

"Good. Now keep it up and maybe I won't be able to practically fit you in the palm of my hand."

"Thank you Don."

His smile was a bit bemused. "For what?"

"For caring," she told him quietly.

"We all care Stell," he told her. He could have sworn that he wasn't in control of his hand as it reached out to brush a piece of hair from her face. "You make it hard for me not to care. I'll see you later."

As he walked away, Stella felt ridiculous that one little touch had left her so shaken; but there she was with her heart racing. Her cell phone's ring was a welcome distraction from her feelings. "Bonasera; oh hey Angell." She listened as the detective ran down the case that had just come through and her blood ran cold. "I'll be right there."

Barely twenty minutes later she felt sick to her stomach as she looked down at the body of the Jane Doe who had been discovered by a homeless man earlier that afternoon. It was as if she'd been dropped back into a never ending nightmare as she photographed the young Hispanic woman who's body was riddled with carved swastikas. Feeling tears prick at her eyes. "What the hell happened?" she questioned.

Angell shook her head as she fought back the same horrified feelings Stella was dealing with. "Manes went off the grid last night, only for about two hours when the patrols were off. They've been cutting down on the patrols by uniforms and plain clothes."

"You don't sound optimistic."

"He's got a damn alibi. We've got a prostitute swearing up and down that he was paying her for her services at the time of the murder."

Stella took a couple of deep breaths before she spoke again. "And it didn't occur to anyone that he most likely paid her or threatened her into saying that?"

"It occurred to all of us, but she's sticking by her story. Unless we can get some concrete evidence we can't touch him."

"Well then we're completely screwed because I doubt we're going to get any more from this crime scene than we have from the other three."

Sometimes she really hated when she was right. Four days later and they had been over every inch of the latest crime scene, and they were no closer to proving Manes' guilt than they had been before. Their work had turned up the same generic fibers that could be linked to some five million American consumers. There was no traceable DNA, no traceable anything, and the prostitute hadn't budged on her story. Their victim had remained a Jane Doe until three days after her death, when a missing person's report was filed and Angell had to inform Mr. and Mrs. Solarez that their twenty-three year old daughter Angela was dead.

Stella was feeling perpetually sick to her stomach and her emotions had begun to war with each other the moment that she'd seen Angela Solarez's body. She was so furious she could barely stand it; furious that Manes had skipped the cops, furious that he had killed again, and completely enraged by the fact that they had absolutely nothing to pin the crimes on him. She was more exhausted than ever, having barely left the lab in the four days since the most recent murder; and she was torn by inner conflict over what to do.

She could vividly remember her promise to Don, but she also remembered the promise she'd made to herself to make sure that these women's killer was brought to justice. Sitting at her desk she glanced down at the crime scene photos in front of her. Erin Dawes, the twenty-eight year old mother of two; Sandra Jones, a nineteen year old student at NYU; Alexandra Jessop, a twenty-five year old with a fiancé who had adored her; and Angela Solarez, a twenty three year old dancer whose life had been taken only days after she'd been given her big break in an off-Broadway production.

Looking at these women and what had been done to them, Stella knew she couldn't back down. Four women who were given no choice in their future, whose families lived in suffering, not knowing if their little girls would ever have justice for what had been done to them; a baby and a toddler who probably wouldn't be able to remember their mother's face. Thinking of them, she knew that she would do anything to bring Manes down; whatever it took.

When Angell had told him about the most recent body on the Manes case Flack's heart sank. His heart ached for the Solarez family after having lost their only daughter, and he knew that this would only make things worse for the families of the other three women. Along with his regret and empathy for the victims' families, he was terrified for Stella. He knew that there was no way that she would be able to back away from the case. Maybe they would all get lucky; maybe he would slip up and they would just be able to scoop him up and set everything to rights.

Even as he thought it he knew it was the last thing that would happen. Manes had yet to screw up, and from everything Flack had heard about the case this latest body hadn't turned up any new evidence. He wanted to believe that she would remember what he'd told her, but in the end he just wasn't sure.

"Hey Flack."

Lindsay's voice pulled him out of his thoughts and he smiled up at her. "Hey Linds."

She eased a hip onto his desk, taking a seat. "You looked pretty far away there."

"I guess I was," he conceded.

"You're worried about her aren't you?" she asked quietly.

Don shook his head. "There's no point in even asking why you know that is there?"

The same worry was written on her face as they spoke. "We're all worried about her Flack; it's just that most of us aren't falling in love with her."

He deliberately ignored the last comment, not ready to even think of going down that road. "I wish I knew what to do for her Linds. It terrifies me how thin she's gotten. She looks like she'll shatter to pieces if you touch her. She's forgetting to eat and she's working on the case so constantly that she isn't sleeping."

"Danny said you talked to her about it."

"I did, but that was before they found Angela Solarez's body. She promised me that she'd be more careful and stop following Manes, but I know she's not going to rest until this one's solved."

She sighed. "I know. What worries me is how good this guy is. Manes hasn't faltered at all or given us anything to work with. He could keep this up for a while before we can catch up, and I'm not sure that Stella's health will hold out that long."

"Don't think I haven't been driving myself crazy thinking the same thing, but I don't know what to do for her. We make our concerns known, but that's about all we can do. She's a grown woman who makes her own decisions, regardless of how worried we are for her well-being."

"We could always tie her up and forcibly prevent her from doing anything I suppose."

He couldn't help the smile that crossed his features. "She'd find a way, you know she would."

Lindsay laughed. "Yeah, I do. I've got to meet up with Danny and Hawkes, try not to worry too much."

"We both know that's not going to happen, but thanks Linds."

"You're welcome."

Left on his own again, Flack really couldn't stop thinking about everything that had been going on. He cared for Stella, more than he had ever cared for any woman in his life. He supposed that should probably worry him since they weren't even together, but it didn't change what he felt for her. All he could do was hope that she would put her health in front of the case; and maybe if he nudged her in the right direction he could make that happen.

Scarcely able to think about anything but keeping Stella healthy all day long, Don decided at the end of his shift that he should see if she wanted to grab some dinner. There was no way for her to avoid or forget eating if she was with him. With that in mind he headed to the lab to try and persuade her to grab something with him.

On his way into the lab he ran into Hawkes, who stopped when Flack motioned to him. "Hey, is Stella still in there?"

Sheldon shot him a look. "What do you think?"

"Yeah, stupid question."

"I don't think she'll be leaving any time soon, though it would be a lot better for her if she did."

He nodded. "You'd be the one to know Doc."

"See if you can get her out of there, it may help," he told him as he walked away.

Steeling himself for a bit of a battle getting her to leave, he headed up the elevator and started towards her office. He certainly wasn't surprised to find her camped out at her desk scrutinizing a stack of files.

She was still beautiful to him, even with everything she'd been putting herself through. For a moment he only stood there and watched her, soaking her in. "Hey Stell."

Evidently he scared her half to death because the file she was holding when flying from her hands and she just about jumped out of her skin. "Sorry, sorry you just startled me."

"It's okay, I'm sorry I scared you; definitely wasn't what I had planned." He bent to help her gather the scattered papers. "I came to see if I could convince you to grab some dinner. I figured if I didn't try you'd probably forget…" He trailed off as he glanced down at one of the papers he'd been gathering. "Stella what the hell is this?"

His tone immediately had her on high alert, and when she saw what he was holding all of the color drained from her face. "Don."

They both stood, and Flack felt his hands shaking with anger as he faced her. "Damn it Stella you promised me you were going to stop." He held up a picture of Manes, clearly taken from some distance without his knowledge; it was dated the previous day. "This isn't stopping."

"What the hell am I supposed to do Don?"

"Quit putting yourself in danger! If this guy realizes what you're doing he won't even hesitate to try and make you victim number five."

Her own anger was rising up to match his and she willingly let it loose. "Don't you think I'm smarter than to let that happen? I know what I'm doing."

"No Stell, you really don't. I kept hoping that I'd actually gotten through to you on this. I thought that you cared enough about your friends and yourself that you would listen to reason, but obviously reason has gone completely out the window."

She shook her head. "Of course I care about all of you, and myself! But I have to do this Don, for those girls and for myself."

He tossed the picture to her desk. "You have to work the case, you don't have to follow around a vicious killer waiting for him to mess up and praying he does before he figures out what you're doing. You say you care but it's becoming more and more obvious to me that you really don't. You won't listen to Mac, you won't listen to Danny or Lindsay or me…"

"I'm listening, I'm taking it to heart, but I can't stop before…"

"Before what Stell? What happens if we never catch him? What happens if you lose everything you've got trying to find him?"

Still she stood firm. "It's not going to happen."

"I'm done Stella. I care too much about you to sit here and watch you self destruct over this."

"Don…"

He shook his head. "None of us can help you unless you want to help yourself. Maybe when you realize just how much you're putting at stake here you'll be able to see everything more clearly. I can only hope that happens before you get hurt."

He was gone before she could say anything else.


	3. Torn Away

Flack didn't know what to do. His head told him that walking away from Stella was the right thing to do. He logically knew that there was no way he could get through to her when she was this focused. Yet there was another part of him that felt guilty about stepping back. While his head said give up his heart was telling him to keep trying; so he was trapped by warring emotions, being pulled in two different directions with nowhere to go.

As he waited for Danny on the basketball court he kept playing over the conversation he'd had with Stella the day before. The look of hurt that had played on her face as he'd wouldn't leave his mind, but he also remembered that hard-headed look she'd gotten while talking about the case. He knew that she wouldn't give up, and he was scared to death that something was going to happen to her.

Of its own will his anger bubbled up and he hurled the basketball as hard as he could at the fence. No surprise, it didn't make him feel any better. "Damn it."

"Whoa Flack, what did the fence ever do to you?" Danny asked.

Don turned to face his friend with a shake of his head. "Nothing."

"What's going on man?" he asked, setting his gym bag down on the bleachers.

"Stella's still following Manes." He watched as Danny went completely still and pushed forward. "She promised me she'd stop, but then they found the fourth body and she started it back up, hell maybe she never really stopped." Feeling wearier than he ever had, he dropped onto the bleachers, his head in his hands.

Danny shook his head. "I can't believe she's doing this. After Aiden you would think that she'd understand the danger there."

He looked up. "Well according to what she told both of us she 'knows what she's doing'. I'm not so sure."

"That makes two of us," he told him, dropping onto the bleachers as well.

"I don't know what to do here Dan. I told her I wouldn't be there to see her self destruct, but how the hell am I supposed to just walk away?"

"I think it's the only thing you can do. There's got to be a way to get through to her, maybe this is it."

Flack wasn't convinced. "I don't think that my walking away will mean much when she's ignored almost every one of us up to this point."

"You matter to her more than you think, but you're right about her not listening to any of us."

"Wait, does Mac know she's been following Manes?"

Danny shrugged. "If he does it wasn't me that let him in on it. I've been debating telling him; I wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do. With how uptight the higher ups have been the past while I was afraid she could lose her job if they got wind of it."

"You're right, but I think we need to tell Mac. He's her best friend, maybe he could get through to her."

"It seems like that's the only option we have left. I'll talk to him; maybe if we get him and all the rest of us in on it the message will finally sink in."

"I won't be there Dan." Sadness overtook his features when he said it.

"Flack…"

He stood firm. "I told her I was done, I need to stick to that." It hurt to say it, but he didn't see another option. "Let me know how it goes and I'll keep my fingers crossed that it works out. It's all I can do."

Stella knew immediately that something was up. Mac didn't call the entire team into a meeting in his office, it just didn't happen. As she approached his office she saw the crowd and realized that her suspicions were confirmed. It was about her, it had to be with everyone there. Preparing herself for the outburst that was sure to come, she opened the door and stepped in.

She looked around the room from Mac to Lindsay to Angell and even Adam, not surprised to see the matching looks of worry on everyone's faces. However she was surprised when she noticed Flack's conspicuous absence. The realization that he was missing sent an arrow of pain into her heart; apparently he was dead serious about what he had told her.

She folder her arms with a sigh as she looked them over. "I cannot believe you're actually staging an intervention."

"You need it Stella," Mac told her.

"Please just hear us out," Angell added.

They all let Mac take the reins; after all they had all tried already. "Stella please tell me you aren't actually following Jason Manes around."

She shook her head. "You already know the answer to that question. We wouldn't be here if you didn't."

His face fell at her answer. "I can always hold out hope. I can't believe you're doing this, especially not after…"

"Aiden, I know," she cut him off. "I don't know how many times I have to say it. I'm not Aiden."

"You may as well be," Danny spoke up.

Mac jumped in again. "That's not the only issue here. Stella you know that this isn't your job. If anyone outside this office were to find out…"

"Nobody's going to fire me Mac."

"You don't know that Stella, none of us do," Lindsay told her quietly.

Then it was Hawkes' turn to try. "There are more important things at stake with this. Your health is suffering because of what you've been doing. You're dangerously thin, it looks like a gust of wind could knock you over; and we all know you aren't getting enough sleep. You keep going down this road and you may not be able to turn back."

"I understand that you're all worried, but I'm fine. All that matters is that this case is solved."

"Listen to what you're saying," Adam told her. "One case isn't more important that your health and your relationships."

She shook her head. "This one is."

"But there has to be a better way," Lindsay said, desperation edging her voice.

"If there is I haven't found it. I appreciate your concern but I'm not going to give up until Jason Manes is behind bars, that's all there is to it."

And just like that she turned her back on them to take her leave. Her hand was on the door when Mac spoke again. "I will suspend you if I have to Stella. It's the last thing I want to do, but I will."

She didn't even turn around. "If you can find a reason, go ahead. I won't let it stop me."

Left in the wake of emotions nobody was sure what to say or do. Lindsay was fighting back tears, Angell looked as if she might be sick and Mac had slumped into his chair, wracking his brain for some sort of solution.

It was then that Danny picked up his phone. "Flack? No go man."

In the station, Don ran a hand over his face as he fought back the fear and anger that were vying for first place in his mind. "You guys tried, that's all that matters." Too bad nothing any of them did was enough.

By the time she headed home Stella was furious. She knew that the team was worried about her, but she never thought that they wouldn't be on board for solving a case. Somewhere in the back of her mind she could recognize that it was what she was doing to herself that had them all jumping ship, but even as she knew it she couldn't reconcile with it. In her mind, four dead women were more important than one living, and she fully intended to keep pushing.

She also knew that it was likely that there would be an official document dictating her suspension on her desk when she went to work in the morning. Mac wouldn't even think twice about doing it if he thought it would help in any way. But she meant what she said; nothing would stop her from putting that bastard Jason Manes behind bars, not even something that took her away from the lab.

When she parked her car and got out she took the files with her. If she was suspended Mac would make sure she didn't have access, so she fully intended to make use of her scanner. Her feet seemed to be made of lead as she trudged up the stairs and through the deserted midnight halls of her complex.

From a few doors down the paper taped to the door looked like a restaurant flier, and she made a mental note to talk to the super about solicitors. The closer she got, however, it became more and more clear that it wasn't a flier at all. When she got to her door she felt frozen in place. For a moment she only stood there and stared, but it wasn't long before the shakes started.

Fumbling in her purse, she found her cell phone, trying desperately to stay calm as she dialed. It rang so long she was afraid it was going to go to voicemail, and she almost wept with gratitude when he answered.

"Don? I need you to come over here." She squeezed her eyes shut. "I just… please Don." She nodded. "Thank you, I'll wait at the door."

When her number had popped up on his phone he had almost just let it ring. Still, there was something about it that made him pick up; Stella didn't call him this late unless there was a problem. So, cursing himself for going back on his word, he'd picked up.

At first he'd thought she just wanted to try and make him understand what she was doing, and he told her he wouldn't come over. Then she had asked again, and there was a pleading note to her voice that almost terrified him and he'd given in. Even so, as he got in his car and started towards her place he wondered if he was doing the right thing.

He was barely a block from the station when the radio call came through, and his heart stopped beating. Dispatch repeated Stella's address and he heard sirens roar to life behind him like a scream that pierced the night. For the second time since he'd known her horrible thoughts of rape and murder came unbidden to his mind, and he felt that familiar panic set in.

Flack's hand first shot out to respond to the call and then it went to his cell phone. Danny answered on the first ring. "Danny…"

"We got the call. We're just leaving the lab."

"I'm going to beat you there, don't be too far behind." They both hung up. Don hit the siren and drove faster than he ever had in his life.

He arrived on scene just before the others from the station. He heard the sirens louder than before, but he didn't stop, he couldn't. He was out of the car in an instant and racing up the stairs. He distantly realized that Angell had started up behind him, but it didn't matter. Pounding down the hall past a crowd of worried neighbors he stopped at her door.

Taped to the half opened door was a picture of Stella. It chillingly resembled the shot of Jason Manes that Don had held only days before in Stella's office. The picture was taken from a safe distance, her head turned from the camera and her eyes distant as she started into the lab.

Angell slid to a stop next to him, anger boiling over when she saw the picture. "Damn it. Is she?"

"I don't know."

Sharing a fearful look they both drew their guns. Flack took point, entering the apartment cautiously. They went in quietly and searched every room quickly and efficiently. "He's not here. Neither is Stella."

He switched the lights on in the living room and his eyes immediately focused on what Manes had left behind for them to find. "Jen, Manes has her."

Sitting on the mantle was a row of framed photographs; some of her and other members of the team, one of the whole group, the last one of her and Flack. Each and every frame had a letter written on it in dripping red. The message that was left behind made his blood run cold.

_TOO LATE_

Note from the Author—Okay, lots of dialogue in this chapter. I'm not sure why, mostly it just turned out that way. I also don't have an intimate working knowledge of Flack's car, so I assumed a lot there. Also, not a clue if Mac could actually suspend Stella for that but I'm going with it. Hope you enjoyed.


	4. Searching

For a brief moment Flack felt the world close in on him. Everything receded into the background until all he could see was that last photograph and the red dripping down over his and Stella's faces. He dimly realized that he was shaking, in anger or fear he didn't know. It was only when he heard Mac's voice behind him that the world came back.

He turned around to see the entire team just inside the door of Stella's apartment. The grim looks on all their faces and the tears shining in Lindsay's eyes brought the harsh reality of what was going on into sharp focus. "Manes," was the only word he could manage to force out.

The look of complete anguish on the younger man's face took Mac a bit by surprise, but that was something for later. "I was afraid of that."

"Damn it," Danny swore.

"Obvious signs of a struggle," Angell told them, walking back in from the hall. "The gaggle of people in the hall saw it all. Stella's next door neighbor Mrs. Klein was the first to get past the shock and describe the events."

The tightness around Mac's eyes was the only outward sign of the inner turmoil he was feeling. "What happened?"

Angell felt the same panicked nausea she'd experienced earlier rising and pressed a hand to her rioting stomach. "From everything I can tell Manes broke into the apartment and waited for her. As far as what exactly happened, it's kind of jumbled. Mrs. Klein and the others heard the door slam open and Stella scream. There was evidently a lot of general chaos, which is understandable given the mess in here. They could hear her putting up a fight and a few came out into the hall to see what was happening. Manes led Stella out of here at gunpoint, threatened to shoot anyone who got in his way. About that time was when we started getting the 911 calls."

Don felt a primal terror rise up and for a moment he felt as if he couldn't breathe. An impossibly vivid vision of Stella with a gun to her head sprang unbidden to his mind and he felt as if a ton of lead had been dropped on his chest. Everything he was feeling must have been playing across his face because he felt gentle hands on his arms and looked down to see Lindsay's concerned face. "Don?"

He wasn't sure what to say; obviously he wasn't fine, none of them were. So he shook his head and gave her the only answer he could. "I'll be okay when we find her."

"Start processing," Mac told the team. "We go over every inch of space. Manes had to have left something behind. Don, you and Angell interview everyone who saw anything. We're going to find Stella, and we're going to catch this guy."

The interviews that Flack conducted in the next two hours were the hardest of his life. He heard the story over and over again, and it felt worse every time. He tried to stay positive, but as the witnesses ran through the incident again and again everything he knew about kidnapping ran through his head. He knew that the chances of finding Stella alive diminished every second that she was gone; he also knew intuitively that there wouldn't be a ransom note or anything like that. This wasn't motivated by money or fame; this was motivated by rage and fury. Stella knew what Manes had done, and she intended to prove it at all costs. Clearly Manes was willing to do anything to keep her from exposing the truth.

Just the thought made his blood run cold, and when he finished with his last interview he drifted back into Stella's apartment where the others were wrapping up. The grim looks on all of their faces didn't do anything to boost his confidence. "None of you look happy."

Mac shook his head. "We don't have much to go on. I don't know how the hell the bastard does it but there's practically no trace. Other than the debris from the struggle we practically have nothing."

"Damn it."

"Well," Danny commented. "The stuff on the pictures isn't blood. It looks to me like some sort of paint marker; we'll know more when we get everything back to the lab. There's no blood on the floor or furniture so it's likely that Stella was in one piece when Manes forced her out of here. At least there's that."

Don nodded. "It's not much, but it's something."

"The sooner we get back to the lab the sooner we can get started," Mac told them. "We're bringing everyone in on this. Nobody works another case until we find Stella."

They had all learned early on that cases that directly involved a team member were the hardest ones to cope with. It didn't matter how many times they had gone through something like this, it never got any easier. Everyone in the lab was scrambling to gather any information that they could; simultaneously cursing the fact that even the wonders of science they had at their disposal had limits. They were pushing those limits as much as they could, but when it came down to it they could only go so far.

As it had been with all of the other scenes from the Manes case, there were no finger prints, no DNA to go on. Still, they went over everything they had, looking for anything that would point them in the right direction. Flack and Angell went over the existing files again and again, hoping to find some clue as to where Manes would take Stella.

After a few times through, Don could recite the details of the files without even skipping a beat. He knew every little insignificant detail like the back of his hand, and still they were no closer to figuring out where Manes might be; and twelve hours after Stella's disappearance his mind kept prompting that he may have to deal with the reality that they were too late. He could only hold out hope that his head was wrong, and he let his heart keep powering the hopeful mantra that was playing in his head: She's alive; we're going to find her.

The rest of the team was in much the same mental state, though it manifested differently for all of them outwardly. Danny was just flat out pissed, and the anger written on his face was enough to keep all but the bravest lab techs away from him. Lindsay was withdrawn; having cried herself out early on she was singularly focused and had spoken very little to anyone since her return to the lab. Mac was his usual stoic self, but the tightness around his mouth and eyes revealed his worry. Hawkes had simply immersed himself, and hardly anyone had even seen him.

The nausea and panic had faded a bit for Angell, only to be replaced by potent fear. She was afraid for Stella, but she was also worried for the man she was working with. There was something else eating at him, something below the surface. Shaking her head, she set a cup of coffee and a pastry next to his left hand. "How are you holding up?" she asked.

"About as well as anyone could expect I guess," he told her, never looking up from the file he was perusing.

"Don."

The subtle note of worry in her voice made him look up, and he found the same worry reflected in her eyes. "Don't worry about me Jen," he told her.

She frowned. "Yeah, that'll happen. What happened before Manes got to Stella that's got you so wound up?"

At first he wanted to brush it off and pretend there was nothing wrong other than the obvious. But he knew that if he didn't get it off of his chest it would drive him insane, so he opened up. "I was on my way to her place when the call came in."

"Why?" she asked.

"I don't know," he said helplessly. "I'm guessing she found the picture, freaked and called me."

Jen shook her head. "Why is that tearing you apart?"

"I didn't pick up when she called." And suddenly the light was beginning to glimmer. "I figured she just wanted to make me see her side of things so I didn't pick up; it was about to go to voicemail when I did. Then I told her I wouldn't come. She practically had to beg me."

"Don you know what time the calls came in. You don't even know for sure that you would have been able to get to her before Manes did."

He shook his head. "What if I could have? What if I had answered the phone on the first ring? What if I had thought beyond my anger and picked up on how scared she sounded and gotten in the car right that second?"

She frowned again. "Don you know that it never helps to think about the ifs. You'll never know if you would have been able to get there on time, none of us ever will. So you can wonder what might have happened if things were different, or you can do everything in your power to make sure that they turn out right."

Flack nodded. "I know, you're right; but I can't help but wonder if we're going to be too late."

"None of us can. That's why we're doing everything that we're doing, so we can make sure that we aren't too late."

"I hope you're right."

Everyone met up in the break room two hours later. Fourteen hours had gone by since Stella had been taken and they didn't have a lot to go on. Still, they each went over everything they had, hoping that a fresh pair of eyes and ears would be able to find something new.

"Danny was right about the substance on the frames; it's a generic paint marker, available in pretty much every gas station, arts supply chain and grocery store in the country. It's really nothing special and as far as I can tell it has no significance other than the color's resemblance to blood," Adam told them.

Lindsay spoke up next. "There wasn't as much as a hair at the scene that didn't belong to Stella. We've been over everything twice and still nothing."

"Don and I didn't have much more luck," Angell told them. "We went back over the existing files and had another detective try to run down Manes through a credit trail but we didn't find everything. The bastard must have a never ending supply of cash because there hasn't been even an ATM withdrawal in the past month and a half."

"And as far as we can tell he doesn't have any property to his name other than his primary residence. It's entirely possible that he has something under a false identity, but since he doesn't have any known aliases it's practically impossible to track anything down," Flack told them.

In a rare show of fatigue Mac scrubbed a hand over his face. "We've got very little to go on and no idea how much time we have…" There was an unspoken addition to the end of the sentence: or if we have any time at all.

"I don't know what else we can do," Danny said, fear edging his voice.

"Just keep doing what we've been doing. Angell and Flack can dig a little deeper into Manes financial history and see if they can find any aliases he may be using."

Hawkes sighed. "And the rest of us go back to the beginning and see if there's anything we've missed."

They were all dispersing when Flack's phone rang. Hoping it was a lead on Manes, he picked it up and momentarily shut down when he saw the name that flashed on his caller ID. The next second he had it to his ear. "Stell?"

Everyone stopped in their tracks when they heard her name, and in moments they were back to the table and listening eagerly as Flack put the phone on speaker. Their faces fell when Stella's defeated voice came over the line. "Don, you and Danny were right about everything."

"Don't say that Stell, we're going to figure this out. Where are you?"

She was still one of the best CSIs the lab had ever seen, and evidently her skills continued to serve her well. "I'm in the Bronx; some kind of warehouse. I doubt it's been used in the past fifteen years. It smells like wax, maybe some sort of old candle factory or something along those lines."

Flack felt a little flutter of hope in his chest as he listened. "Good, Stell, that's good. Is there any way for you to get out of there? A door or window?"

"There are several windows, but my legs are shackled to a pole. I've tried and I can't get loose."

The flutter of hope was painfully crushed out and he could see the same emotions on his friends' faces. "Okay, that's okay. We're going to figure out where you are. Where's Manes?"

"He left just before I called you and my phone fell out of his pocket. I'm guessing he dropped it on purpose but I knew I had to call."

"You did the right thing Stell. We're going to find you. Stay on the line with me as long as you can." They were all up and running in an instant. Angell was on the phone with dispatch as they all headed as fast as they could for cars. Flack switched the phone off of speakerphone and cradled it at his ear as he went.

Stella took a ragged breath before she spoke again. "I'm so sorry Don," she said quietly.

"Hey, don't apologize to me, there's no reason."

He could almost see her shaking her head. "If I had listened to you…"

"We'll never know will we?" he asked as he climbed into the passenger seat of Angell's car. "All that matters now is that we're going to get Manes' ass on kidnapping, assault, anything I can think to throw at him; and we're going to get a confession on the other murders. We're coming Stell, just hold on." There was a sickening silence on the other end of the line and white hot fear rose up in Flack's chest. "Stell?"

The voice on the other line made the fear burn into rage. "Detective Flack is it?" Manes asked. "I seem to recall your presence at my original interrogation."

"If you hurt her…"

"You'll what? I assure you Detective that I can be long gone by the time you even figure out where I am. But just to give you a fighting chance, I'll tell you where I am. Your fellow CSIs and detectives should receive a text message any second now. Don't bother tracing it, it's disposable."

Sure enough, there was a beep, and Angell opened it to find an address. She looked over at Flack and when he urgently mouthed 'go', she listened. She looked over at him in search of answers and he covered the mouthpiece on the phone briefly. "Just go, and tell the others to go too." He turned his attention back to Manes. "Why are you telling me this?"

He laughed. "I told you, I want to give you a sporting chance. Don't believe me?"

"Do I sound like an idiot?"

"No, I suppose you don't. Fine then, Detective, I'll tell you the truth. In exactly ten minutes I'm going to shoot her. I'm well aware of the fact that you probably won't be able to get here in time, and I want you to find her dying a slow death in a pool of her own blood. Of course I'm accustomed to working with a knife rather than a gun, so there's no guarantee of my aim. Could be I'll just end up shooting her in the head."

"You son of a bitch."

Manes laughed again, and it chilled Flack down to the marrow. "I've been called much worse I can assure you. We're down to eight minutes. Maybe you'll make it here in time to save her; maybe you won't." He couldn't refrain from one more comment before he hung up. "Clock's ticking Detective."


	5. Saviors

Note From The Author-- I'm so sorry for the delay. I fully intended on posting this before I got on a red eye to New York (Seriously) over a week ago and it just slipped my mind. Of course while in New York I frequently thought of the story as well as the show while seeing several of the things commonly shown on the show, like the neon NYPD sign in Times Square : ). Still, I am sorry for not posting sooner. Hopefully I will get more posted soon. Enjoy.

Angell's heart was pounding in her chest as she and Flack sped towards the address Manes had given them. "Don, are you sure about this? For all we know Manes could just be leading us on a wild goose chase."

"What choice do we have? Without this we haven't got a clue where Stella is. We have to try."

The next few minutes seemed to be the longest of both of their lives, and when Angell slid the car to a stop in front of an abandoned warehouse they both were out of the car in a flash. The others' cars pulled up behind them and they were immediately met with questions.

"What the hell is going on Flack?" Danny asked.

He explained it quickly as everyone strapped into vests and pulled out their weapons. Everyone looked more than a little hesitant, and Hawkes expressed their concerns. "Are we sure this is the way to go?"

Flack nodded. "It's the only option we've got. I'm taking his threat seriously, and Manes is just enough of a sadistic bastard to really want us to find her when it's too late."

"He's right," Mac conceded. "This is the only way to go."

More nervous than usual, they all ranged themselves behind Flack, preparing to come in hard and fast. They were ready very quickly; this one mattered more than any case ever had. Taking a deep breath, Flack sent up a prayer that they could somehow catch Manes off his guard and Stella wouldn't get hit in the process. He was about to urge them all to move when they heard the gunshot.

For a moment time stood still, and everyone's hearts stopped as it occurred to them what that shot could mean. Then in an instant everything sped up again and they were all on the move. They burst through the nearest doors, weapons drawn, and couldn't see any sign of Stella or Manes. Everyone fanned out to check every inch of the space, but as far as they could see there wasn't anyone there.

Flack's hopes fell a little further with each space they found empty. The place was like a maze, and every minute that they didn't find anything was another minute that could mean time was running out for Stella. He felt himself getting frantic, felt his control slipping as they continued to search. Then came another gun shot, and this one was close.

Calling out for anyone close to him, Don took a sharp right into the back of the building, fear and adrenaline coursing through his body as he went. He could hear more now, the sound of something clattering to the floor and yet another gunshot, this one almost right next to him. It was all coming from his left hand side and he wanted to praise God when he rounded a corner and found a door. Preparing himself for the worst, he burst through the door.

When the first thing he saw was Manes lying in a growing pool of blood his knees almost buckled, the relief was so strong. He bent to check for a pulse and felt an intense satisfaction when he didn't find one.

"Don."

Stella's voice rang out clearly from the back of the room and he called out for the others as he sprinted over to her. There was a gun sitting to her right and her legs were still shackled to the pole. He fell to his knees next to her, checking over every inch of her for injury. "Stell, are you hurt?"

She nodded. "Scrapes and some nasty bruises; there's only one that may need medical attention."

"Where?" he asked, not able to see anything clearly.

Wincing, she pulled up the edge of her shirt to show him a swastika carved into the flesh of her stomach near her left hip bone. "I guess being Italian and Greek made his short list as well, or maybe he just wanted to piss me off." For a moment the world swam in a sea of red hot fury as Flack wished vehemently that he could bring Manes back to life, beat the shit out of him and kill him again. It was only Stella's gentle hand against his cheek that brought him back. "He's dead Don, that's enough for me."

He nodded, trying to keep in mind that rage wouldn't help at this point. He was about to speak again when the others came flying through the door. They all hurried over to them, grinning like idiots. "You're okay," Lindsay cried.

"Relatively speaking, yes," Stella told her.

Mac nodded. "We need to get you out of here."

"If we can't find a key we're going to need bolt cutters," Danny commented.

"I'll check the body," Hawkes volunteered.

Don turned back to look at Stella. "You scared the hell out of me Stell," he told her.

She nodded. "I know. Don I'm so sorry I didn't listen to you." She looked around. "I'm sorry I didn't listen to any of you."

"You did what you thought was right," Angell told her.

"Yeah, and look where that got me," she sighed.

Mac knew she would beat herself up over this if they didn't stop her. "All that matters now is that you're safe and Manes is off the street."

Flack nodded. "He's right."

It was then that Hawkes made his way back to the group. "Anybody got a pair of bolt cutters handy?"

Mac sighed. "Call the lab."

It was over half an hour before Adam, who they'd left behind at the lab, appeared with a pair of bolt cutters. By that point Flack could tell that Stella was fading fast; the fatigue brought on by the past twenty-four hours as well of months of self neglect was written on every inch of her body. Finally, after fifteen minutes of work, she was free of the chains and Flack pulled her to stand on her feet.

"You going to make it walking?" he asked her.

She nodded. "I'll be fine."

But when she went to take a step and stumbled a bit it was clear that her legs weren't ready to cooperate after so many hours of not being used. Knowing she would want to make it out herself, Don opted for catching her around the waist and giving her just enough support that she could walk out under her own power. They gave Manes' body as wide of a berth as they could as they left, but Stella couldn't help but look down once. Despite what she'd been through she was relieved to know that no other woman would have to fear what Manes could do to them.

Together, Stella and Flack made their way towards the front of the building, receiving several relieved smiles from the others. She was thrilled to leave on her own two feet rather than on a stretcher, but her joy was incredibly short lived as spots danced at the edge of her vision. "Don."

He turned his head just as her eyes fell closed; all he could do was catch her before she hit the ground and call out for Hawkes.

Don and the others realized how lucky they were to have Stella back less than twenty-four hours after she'd been taken, but it was hard to remember that when you were sitting in a waiting room of a hospital. They had been there for over an hour and though the nurses assured them that Stella was fine, they all needed to see it for themselves before they could breathe easily.

When one of the nurses walked in with a smile they all felt their fears ebb a bit. "She's going to be just fine. The doctor is giving her quite the tongue lashing at the moment for not taking care of herself; he wasn't too happy when she told him the last time she ate a decent meal or got a decent night's sleep was something like four months ago. Even with that, she'll make a complete recovery and there's nothing to worry about. If you'd like to see her you can go back one or two at a time."

Evidently there was no question in the team's mind as to who would go first, because they all just stared at Flack. He was more than willing to oblige them, and he was on his feet in an instant and following the nurse down the hall. He could hear the doctor's voice before he made it to the door, and he couldn't help but smile a little bit when he saw the somewhat wizened man actually shaking a finger at Stella, who was looking a bit like a penitent child.

As the doctor left he and Flack exchanged a smile before the younger man took a seat next to Stella's bed. "Sounded like quite the discussion you were having," he commented.

"I've been sufficiently chastised I assure you," she told him. "I promised that as soon as I left here I would have a big healthy meal and take as much time off of work as it takes for me to sleep and feel rested."

"Good," he said. "You need it."

She shook her head. "I feel like an idiot Don. I was so focused that I didn't listen to a word that you or anyone else said. You were all telling me I could end up hurt or worse and I just didn't believe it could happen to me again. I didn't know just how wrong I was.

He sighed. "Stell, at this point all I care about is that you're okay. Sure, it would have been nice if you had listened to me and you never had to go through this, but that's clearly not the case. I'm just happy that you're safe."

"Me too, but I'm still sorry."

"Don't be. Is it going to heal?"

Stella felt a little twinge in her heart when she answered. "It's not infected so it should heal perfectly fine; but there's about a ninety nine point nine percent change that it's going to scar."

He felt for her. Having that symbol etched into her skin for the rest of her life would probably never stop hurting. "I'm sorry Stell."

She shook her head, but he could see tears shining in her eyes. "It's okay. Maybe seeing it every day will remind me never to let something consume me this way again."

"Pretty extreme reminder."

Her smile was quick and wry. "Well I have been all about the extremes lately."

They were interrupted when Mac stuck his head in. "Am I interrupting?"

Flack shook his head as he stood. "No, it's cool. I talk to you a bit later Stell."

"Thank you Don," she said quietly.

He bent and kissed her forehead gently. "Any time." With a nod towards Mac he headed back to the others.

Smiling, Mac took the seat that Flack had just vacated. Stella smiled right back as she spoke. "So I guess they're letting me out of here tonight."

"That's good, but you're avoiding talking about whatever it is that's going on between you and Don."

She prayed that she didn't flush at his words. "At the moment nothing is going on."

"It certainly seems like it," he commented.

"What do you mean?"

Mac shook his head. "You didn't see him when you were missing Stell. When he saw your apartment it was like the world caved in on him; he was devastated."

Sometimes Mac made it easy to open up, so she did. "What if I screwed things up with him Mac? I completely disregarded everything he said, and he was so concerned."

"From what I can tell you didn't screw anything up." Sarcasm was a rare show for Mac but it came out now. "You didn't listen to anything the rest of us said either and we still love you."

"True enough," she conceded with a laugh.

He was so happy to still have his best friend that his smile was positively radiant. "Just see where it goes Stella. You never know."


	6. Recovery

Note From The Author-- This chapter is really a filler I guess. Still, it gives some insight into what Stella is thinking. Plus I really wanted to have a Lindsay and Stella friendship moment and it's included in this chapter.

True to his word Stella's doctor let her out of the hospital that night, and she couldn't have been any more grateful for it. Though he knew she was eager to leave, the doctor wouldn't let her leave without one more reminder that it was absolutely essential for her to start taking care of herself again. Once again she sincerely promised that she would have a hearty meal and climb into bed and sleep as long as her body would allow.

Mac was waiting out front to take her home, despite her insistence that she was more than capable of getting home herself. Her protests didn't even make a dent in Mac's resolve. Everyone was still worrying over her, and Stella simply resigned herself to the fact that her friends would be watching her very closely for some time.

By the time they made it to her apartment Stella was dragging under the weight of exhaustion. Declining Mac's offer to walk her up, she said goodbye and headed inside. As she made her way upstairs she found herself seriously contemplating forgoing her meal and simply pouring herself into bed. Still she knew that her doctor was right, and that a hot meal would probably do her a world of good. She'd said no to Lindsay's offer of dinner simply because she wanted nothing more than to go home; but now, faced with the prospect of either having to cook something or call out for something less than nutritious, she really wished she had said yes. With a sigh, she unlocked the door and let herself in.

The mouthwatering smell of a home cooked meal was the last thing she expected to come home to, though finding her apartment virtually spotless was also a surprise. Feeling a smile blossom on her face she surveyed the gorgeous meal that had been set out for her. She had a feeling she knew exactly who she could thank for it all, and when she picked up the letter that sat next to one of the dishes everything was confirmed.

_Stell_

_,_

_I figured the last thing that you would want to do when you got home was fix something to eat, and we both know that eating's on the top of the list. Danny and I stopped by to make sure that the crews hadn't left your place a wreck (you'll be able to tell that they did a pretty good job of it. We caught them just as they were leaving and may or may not have oh so gently persuaded them to do a bit more) and it occurred to me that you could probably use a little help in the food department. Dan and I made a call to his ma for the food, so don't give either of us the credit for cooking. I hope this helps, and that you'll crawl into bed and sleep through tomorrow. I'm having a hard time figuring it out myself, so it's hard to say out loud what's been going through my head; I can't really explain how I felt when I thought of what could be happening to you, but I can say that I've never in my life felt as relieved as I did when I found you. _

_Don_

Stella found herself constantly and almost always positively surprised by Detective Don Flack. Just when she thought she had discovered every little hidden quirk or detail, he went and did something like this that blew her out of the water. Between the exhaustion and surplus of emotions she was waffling between crying over how ridiculously sweet he and Danny were or just diving into that amazing looking meal and pushing emotions to the side.

She picked the latter, and it didn't take long for her to devour everything that they had left for her. She was feeling blissfully full when she treated herself to a hot bath; it was only when she felt herself drifting off in the water that she dried herself off and pulled her weary body into a pair of her most comfortable sweats. As she settled herself in bed she felt her mind starting to drift back over everything that had happened, focusing in on everything that Don had done for her and because of her. Though she felt sleep closing in on her, Stella reached for her phone and found herself smiling when she heard the voice on the other line.

He was all business when he picked up his phone, and she realized that he must still be on duty. "Flack."

"Hey," she said quietly. "Thank you."

"Stell, don't even worry about it."

She snuggled down into her pillow, tucking her phone against her shoulder. "It was very sweet of you. And Danny too of course."

"Well like I said, we deserve absolutely no credit for how dinner tasted, just getting it there."

"Even so, I appreciate it more than you know. I appreciated the letter as well," she said softly.

On his end of the line, Flack was entirely serious. "I meant what I said, Stell."

"I know, and…" She found that she couldn't fight back a yawn, and she broke off.

"You're exhausted. Get some sleep, we can always talk later."

She had to agree with him. "Night Don."

"Sweet dreams Stell."

Evidently her body took the suggestions of both Flack and the doctor to heart. When she finally woke she groped for her cell phone and was shocked to realize that she'd been asleep for nearly eighteen hours. The next thing that registered was the fact that she was absolutely ravenously hungry. A few minutes later she found herself in the kitchen running her hands through the tangled mass of her hair and searching for something quick and easy to make. Figuring that canned soup was as good as it was going to get, she pulled out a can and dumped it into the bowl. While she was waiting for her makeshift meal to nuke, she flipped on the TV just in time to catch the news.

No surprise, every channel was talking about Mane's demise. It made her slightly uncomfortable to hear her name mentioned in virtually every piece, but she knew that there was no way to avoid it. The news media was a little fuzzy on the details and for that she could be eternally grateful; still, she hoped that her involvement wouldn't have the reporters camping at her door.

She was standing at the microwave collecting her would be feast when they began a small tribute to the young women who had, by all accounts and evidence, died at Manes' hand. Stella hurried back to the TV and watched every second of it. As the faces of the women who had died flashed on the screen one by one, it truly hit home that she had almost been another victim. She had some small idea of what those poor girls had gone through, and it made her pain for them all the more vivid. She had made it out when they hadn't.

Sitting there in front of her television, Stella knew exactly how lucky she was to still be alive. As her hand unconsciously went to the bandage on her hip, she thought about everything that had to be going through the families' minds. She knew that while they would be relieved that Manes had gotten exactly what he deserved nothing would ever relieve the pain they had been through. All she could hope was that Manes' death would give them some sort of closure, and she could do her best to make sure that none of their loved ones were ever forgotten.

It shouldn't have surprised her that she was still dead tired, after all it had been months since she'd gotten a decent night's sleep. Still, it did catch her a little off guard when she woke up on her couch at three in the morning. When she stumbled into her bedroom she was far from amazed to see that she'd missed several calls to her cell and had four messages waiting. The first was from Hawkes; he wanted to make sure that she'd listened to her doctor and done everything she was supposed to. With a smile she made a mental note to reassure him that she had been behaving. The second was from Lindsay, just wanting to make sure that she was doing okay, the third from Danny wondering much the same thing and wondering how she'd liked his mother's meatloaf. The fourth message was Mac just checking up on her, and the fifth was from Don.

"Hey Stell. I called to make sure you were doing okay, though I'm probably calling more for my benefit than yours. I seem to keep forgetting that you're tucked up safe and sound, stupid as that sounds. Everyone misses you already, even if you've only been out for a day; but don't think that means you need to come back in here before you're supposed to. Frown at me if you want but we both know you just considered it."

Stella had to laugh because she had been frowning at him, and she had definitely been thinking about going back earlier than originally planned. "You know me too well," she commented to herself.

"Just take your time Stell, we'll all still be here when you come back, though I certainly hope to see you sometime before your two some odd weeks off are over. Call me if you need anything, or even if you don't."

She was still smiling when she snapped her phone shut and set it on the table. She couldn't resist the charm of his teasing, and she certainly hadn't missed the undertone in his last words. But then she had known before listening to his message that she would see him before she came back to work. Mac was right; there was something between her and Flack, and she wanted nothing more than to explore whatever that was. It was clearly too late to all him back now, so rather than picking her phone up to dial, she switched it off. There would be time later to work things out, but for the moment she burrowed under her covers and let sleep carry her away again.

The next time she woke Stella found herself feeling relatively close to human for the first time in a while. After showering and taking a blow dryer to her hair she actually felt completely human. Though she knew it had only been two days, she already felt herself getting antsy cooped up in her apartment. Not sure what she had in mind, but eager to get out of the house she pulled on jeans and a comfortable sweater. She was headed for the door when her cell phone rang.

"Bonasera."

"Hey Stella, I wasn't sure if you'd be up," Lindsay told her.

She laughed. "Honestly I'm surprised I am. But I've slept so much since I got home that I'm not sure I can do it anymore. Mostly I'm going a little stir crazy at this point. I know that I'm supposed to be resting…"

"I can understand where you're coming from though. I've got the day off, so I'm officially offering my services as a get you out of the house mechanism."

"My hero," Stella said with a chuckle. "Got any ideas?"

There was a pause, and she could almost see the smile forming on Lindsay's face. "Been to the Met lately?"

An hour later Stella and Lindsay could be found gazing up at an ancient Greek statue, contemplating the several important pieces the unfortunate work was missing. Looking around them, it occurred to Lindsay that many of the statues were all suffering from the same masculine cringe-worthy absence. "Have you ever noticed that most of the male statues are all missing the same… appendage," she asked.

Stella looked over to see Lindsay scrutinizing the nearest sculptures, and it didn't take long for her to figure out exactly what the younger woman meant. When she did figure it out she laughed out loud. "Well that's one way to look at birth control I guess. You know, I really hadn't noticed it until today. It'll be the only thing I'll notice the rest of the time we're in here though, I can tell you that."

"I wonder why they all seem to lose those first," she mused, a laugh still present in her voice.

"Gravity maybe; the most powerful warning a man can be given by a woman?"

"Well for whatever reason, it makes you feel a little sorry for them doesn't it?"

She nodded. "I imagine it's worse if you're a man."

They wandered away from the sculptures and Lindsay decided there was no better time than the present to satisfy her curiosity. "So speaking of men, what's up with you and Flack?"

"Nice segue," Stella told her with a roll of her eyes.

"Oh come on Stella, there's clearly something between the two of you. You would have thought someone had taken away the sun the way he looked when he realized what had happened."

Stella sighed. "Mac told me the same thing. There's definitely something between us, but we haven't exactly had a lot of time to figure it out. I made a valiant if unconscious effort to royally screw things over," she deadpanned.

"But you didn't."

"No, from what I can tell I didn't ruin whatever it is that's between us, though I don't doubt I almost did."

Lindsay shook her head. "Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades."

"Cute," she said with a smile. "No need to worry about us kiddo, I can promise you that I'll be talking to the good detective very soon."

"I certainly hope you'll be doing more than just talking to him, but that would be entirely up to you," she told her with a grin.

"Yes it would, though I'm sure you'll be one of the first to know if there are any type of status changes."

The Montana girl nodded before taking one last look over her shoulder where she could just barely see a few pieces of the sculptures. "Fingers crossed that none of those changes necessitate anyone ending up like all those poor Grecian castrati back there." She turned to see Stella evidently holding back hysterical laughter and grinned. "Because that would just suck for everyone."

Note From The Author—This final conversation was actually inspired by a comment I made in the Met last week to my sister, not even kidding. We actually walked through one of the nation's most amazing museums having a conversation about why all the male statues were missing a body part that they would value so much. Such is my random thought process : ) Not a whole lot of romance in this chapter, and for that I apologize. But we all know the lack of romance won't last long. This is me after all :)


	7. Firsts

Note From The Author-- Here's the fluffiness we've all been waiting for; a little bit of Stella and Flack romance for us all, with more to come later on. I'm probably going to go to ten chapters on this, but I'm not positive. We'll all see together where it goes.

Stella found that her day with Lindsay was exactly what she needed. Not only did it get her out of the house for the day, it made her remember just how much fun it was to have a girls' day out, and she intended to have them much more often from then on. Though she had a blast, the time on her feet was a concrete reminder of just how much she had been neglecting her health and well being. By the time she made it home she was once again absolutely exhausted. It was a feeling that she was used to in her line of work, but everything she'd put herself through in the past few months had made it worse.

Evidently it was going to take a lot more than a couple nights rest for her to feel better; that much she had guessed, but she'd been holding out hope that maybe the process could be expedited Clearly that wasn't the case. She wouldn't be able to get back to work as soon as she would have liked, but then there was no way Mac would let her come back before she was supposed to anyway. As she changed into a pair of comfortable sweats she decided that she may as well take full advantage of the time she had. There was a pile of books in her bedroom she'd been dying to read, a stack of DVDs that she'd bought and had yet to watch, and an incredibly sweet and concerned NYPD Detective who had been on her mind for some time now.

It took her around five seconds to decide that it was about time that she acted on her feelings. Before the Manes case she had been ready to take the first step with him, and now that it was over he'd been on her mind almost nonstop. Now was the time to make her move, and she picked up her phone to do just that.

"Flack."

"I decided to take you up on your offer," she told him.

"Stell, so this is you calling even though you don't need anything?"

She smiled. "Well, not quite."

He laughed. "You're getting all cagey on me here Stell; wanna spell this out for me?"

"I'll do my best. I called to see if I could convince you to let me take you to dinner tomorrow night."

"You honestly thought I'd need convincing? Like I'm going to turn down food and the company of a gorgeous woman?"

Despite herself, Stella felt herself flushing at the compliment. There was just something about him that made her feel like a teenager again, and it wasn't an unpleasant feeling. "I was hoping you'd say something along those lines."

"Well, where are you taking me Bonasera?"

"I haven't gotten that far yet," she told him with a laugh. "But I'll think of something."

Flack found that he couldn't keep a note of anticipation from his voice. "I don't doubt it."

"Tomorrow night then?"

"Wherever you want, I'll be there."

The giddy teenager feeling carried through the night and over into the next day. It had been some time since she had gotten ready for a first date with someone who had the potential of becoming something very serious, and Stella found the elation she was feeling absolutely amazing.

She treated herself to a mini spa day, painting her toenails and indulging in another long bath. The whole experience reminded her that when she was working she too often neglected the little things that made her really feel like a woman, and she resolved to try and make time for them from then on. When Lindsay called and Stella shared that she and Flack were going out that night she also indulged in the purely feminine tradition of laughing with a friend and wondering where the night would lead.

It had taken her a while to decide where to go, but she decided that her first date with Flack should have a touch more whimsy than most. For that very reason, she called him a few hours before he was set to be at her place and told him to go ahead and wear jeans. As she slipped into her own jeans along with a pair of comfortable flats and a shirt she felt the flutter of butterflies in her stomach, and she knew that he really was more important than anyone had been to her in a long while.

Flack was nothing if not prompt. The doorbell rang almost exactly at seven, and when she opened the door Stella knew that her choice of dates had been right on the money. Don Flack in jeans and a t-shirt was something you just didn't see that often, and a sight that she would have been willing to see every day. "You look good detective," she commented with a smile.

"Right back at ya," he told her. "So where are we going?"

There were a lot of things that Flack would have expected on a first date with a woman like Stella Bonasera. Grabbing a sandwich from a hole in the wall deli and catching the Staten Island Ferry definitely hadn't made the list, but he realized that it was actually perfect. It was just another facet of the wonderfully appealing concoction that was Stell.

"You constantly amaze me, you know that?" he asked.

Stella let out a little laugh. "I can recall thinking the same thing about you not too long ago. Not that I'm debating, mind you, but why exactly am I so amazing?"

He grinned. "Well it could take all night for me to tell you that. More specifically this isn't how I imagined a first date with you, but I'm finding that it's pretty much perfect. What made you land on this?"

"Maybe I'm just cheap," she deadpanned. It only took about two seconds for her to crack and laugh. "Honestly it's something that I've always loved doing, just cruising around on the water, seeing the city this way. It helps put things into perspective."

"I think that's definitely a good reason," he told her with a smile. "The sunset's a definite plus."

She smiled. "That too."

They stayed on the water for a while, first relishing in the spectacularly colored sunset and then the beauty of the New York skyline at night. Conversation flowed easily between them as it always had, and they were both content with how well the night was going. When they found themselves back on dry land Flack nudged her playfully with his shoulder. "So what's next Bonasera? The night's still young."

"Patience; you'll see soon enough."

They caught the subway, stopping on their way down to help out a couple of incredibly confused tourists. Flack knew the city well so when they got off the train he had a pretty good idea of where they were going. Stella led the way towards their ultimate destination, and he didn't comment on her choice until they joined a throng of tourists on the observation deck at Rockefeller.

Finding that he was completely enchanted by the choice, he looked over at Stella with a grin firmly in place. "Top of the Rock?"

She smiled. "Well you know I thought of the Empire State Building first, but that just seemed so obvious," she told him.

"Well for the record, I think it was a great idea."

Stella nodded and looked out over the city. "I forget sometimes how beautiful it is."

"We all do. In our line of work it's too easy to let everything we deal with steal the beauty from the world." Figuring there was no better moment, he reached out and laced their fingers together. "That's what makes it so perfect."

She looked down at their linked hands, feeling contemplative. "Almost losing everything amazing about the world really puts things in perspective."

Don's hand tightened gently around hers and she looked up into serious blue eyes. "We all came close to losing something Stell."

"I didn't think I would still feel this way."

"What way?" he asked.

Stella sighed. "Like an idiot. I keep thinking back and trying to put myself back in that frame of mind and remember why I was so willing to put myself in danger. I keep trying to remember why it is that I was so willing to risk losing you and everyone else, and I just can't. I suppose being kidnapped and carved up by a psychopath makes it a little difficult."

"You're not an idiot Stell; focused, I'll give you that, but never stupid. You made some mistakes, but that only makes you human."

"I think it's going to take some time for me to be able to get to a point where I agree with you , but I appreciate the reassurance," she told him.

He could tell she wanted to leave it alone, so he tugged on her hand. "Come one, let's get the full effect." With their hands still linked, he led her out to the edge of the building. For a moment they just looked out, the constant low murmur of the crowd the background. "Stell?"

She looked up at him. "Yeah?"

"Isn't it pretty much the dream of every New Yorker, the romantic kiss with the skyline in the background?"

"If not every New Yorker then certainly the majority," Stella said with a smile.

Don felt his heart speed up a bit as he asked the next question. "You in the majority/"

It was all the answer he needed when she turned to face him and looped her arms around his neck, but he still liked hearing it. "Definitely."

All of the clichés didn't matter; no matter how much it had been done, it really was something to kiss someone for the first time with the city of New York glowing beneath you. The first kiss was slow and gentle, though not any less devastating. Before long Stella felt her knees go weak, and she fisted her hands in his shirt to anchor herself. For his part, Flack sank his hands into her hair, relishing in the way the curls tangled around his fingers. A child's giggling barely broke through into the world they had created for themselves. With one last kiss at the corner of her mouth Flack pulled away.

"Hi there," Stella said, looking down at the curly headed toddler standing next to them.

"Hi," she said, bouncing on her toes. "You were kissing."

Stella suppressed a laugh as Flack smiled. "Yeah we were."

"Because she's special?" the little girl asked

He nodded soberly glancing back briefly before returning his attention to their new friend. "Because she's really special."

A frantic looking woman came running over and scooped the little girl into her arms. "Anna, I told you not to go anywhere without me." She turned to Don and Stella with a frustrated sigh. "I'm so sorry if she was a nuisance, she gets away from us more than I'd like."

"She was perfectly fine," Stella told her.

"Thank God for small favors," she commented. "Enjoy your night."

Don grinned at her and Anna. "You too."

Stella turned back into his arms and looked up at him. "Because I'm special, huh?" she asked.

With a contented smile he bent to kiss her sweetly. "Really, really special."


	8. Sparking

When Stella was in the hospital she and Mac had agreed on an amount of time that she would take off, haggling and arguing and bargaining until they landed on four weeks. With a week to go in what she had originally glibly thought of as her sentance, Stella was beginning to get a little bit antsy.

She had filled her time with lunches and dinners with all of her friends, catching up on books and movies, and starting a fantastic new relationship with Don Flack Jr. They had been going out on a regular basis for a couple of weeks and she loved every minute of it. As much as she loved spending time with him and with everyone else, she missed work. There were moments when she wanted nothing more than to be in the lab or the field working on a case; which was precisely what she was wishing when her phone rang on the last Monday she would be spending away from the lab.

"Bonasera."

"Hi Stella."

She smiled. "Hey Jen, what's going on?"

Angell laughed. "I figured you may be starting to go a little stir crazy so I thought I'd see if you wanted to go for lunch."

"You were completely right about the stir crazy, and I'd love some lunch."

"Meet me at that divey little Italian place in an hour?"

It was Stella's turn to laugh. "I'll be there."

They met up at said Italian place, which decidedly was a dive but had some of the best ravioli in the city, and it didn't take long for the conversation to turn to men; that was pretty much inevitable.

"So, you and Don huh?" Jen asked with a smile.

The smile Stella returned was positively radiant. "Yeah."

"I take it its going well," she commented with a laugh."

"Very well."

Angell took a sip of her coffee and leaned back a bit in her chair. "Why do I sense a but coming here? God, please don't tell me he's horrible in bed; that would be such a waste of all that yummy."

Her laugh was so loud it drew looks from some of the other patrons before she reined it in a bit. "I very highly doubt that he's bad in bed. The problem would be that I have no idea."

"Really?" she asked incredulously.

"Really," Stella sighed. "Trust me it's not for lack of hinting and hoping on my part. I think he's just worried about everything I went through. He's very careful with me."

She smiled. "That's such a Flack thing to do, and very sweet."

"Sweet doesn't bother me, but if I don't get my hands on the man soon I'm liable to spontaneously combust," she said seriously.

Angell considered it for a second, and then leaned forward again. "Want to hear my opinion?"

Stella nodded. "Jen, at this point I would dress up like an Oompa Loompa if I thought it would do me any good."

"Okay," she said with a laugh. "My suggestion; come back to the station with me, and stake your claim. Plant one on him right in front of God and everybody then invite him to dinner at your place tonight; then jump him."

"Well I would certainly have the element of surprise on my side. But do you honestly think it would work? I mean really?"

Jen showed her a positively wicked smile before she answered. "It worked on Hawkes."

Stella had chosen that rather unfortunate moment to take a bit of her canolli and she began to choke on it. By the time she managed to get a drink of water and actually swallow she was laughing so hard that she could feel herself tearing up. "You and Hawkes?" she asked. "How long has that been going on?"

"A couple of months," she answered with a shrug. "Granted I didn't actually kiss him in front of the entire station, so I can't say too much about the potential efficacy of that part. I can however give you a one hundred percent guarantee on the second part," she told her, grinning.

"You know, I may just find out for sure myself."

Angell didn't miss the way that Don's eyes lit up when he saw Stella walk into the station a bit later. Thrilled for both of them, she offered Stella a wink and a smile before sitting down at her desk to watch the floor show.

"Hey Stell, what's going on?"

She didn't say a word; instead she grabbed him by the lapels of his suit and pulled him in for a searing kiss. For one stunned moment he just stood there, but it didn't take long for him to forget where they were and pull her into his arms. Not wanting to pole vault over the lines of office appropriate office conduct, she pulled away before it got too intense.

Flack looked down at her with a bemused grin. "Why is it that women get all pissy when men mark their territory but it's perfectly okay for them to do it?"

Stella's laughter rang out over the cat calls and jokes of the other officers. "Feel free to mark your territory any time," she told him. "Dinner at my place tonight?"

"I'll be there," he said with a nod.

"Good."

She started out of the station but he caught her hand and spun her in for another burning kiss. "Just thought I'd take you up on that offer," he told her, that irresistible grin of his going full force.

"You are good," she said quietly. He tugged on her hand to pull her in again but she slipped out of his arms with a soft smile. "Tonight."

As far as Don was concerned, it had taken forever for 'tonight' to get there. Still, the end of the shift came and after showering quickly and throwing on the first clean t-shirt and pair of jeans that he found, he made his was to Stella's. The mouth watering scent of roasted garlic and herbs assaulted him as he slipped through the front door.

"I thought you and Angell had Italian for lunch," he said quietly, not wanting to startle her.

Stella turned from the stove with a smile. "Please, like you can ever have too much pasta."

He grinned as he pulled her into his arms. "Can't argue with you there." He bent to kiss her slowly and thoroughly. "Hi."

"Hi," she said, smiling up at him. "You catch a lot of crap for that scene today?" she asked, pulling gently away to return to her sauce.

"Mostly what I got was everything male and straight telling me that I was lucky and a couple of suggestions that someone would be there to take care of you if I just happened by some freak accident to end up at the bottom of the Hudson. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they were joking but just in case…"

She laughed. "Keep your gun handy. Now make yourself useful and cut that bread for me."

"On it."

They fell into an easy silence while both worked and Stella found her mind drifting to what she and Angell had talked about. Her mind was locked in a heated debate over whether to wait until after dinner to make her move or just go for it right then when his hand brushed her shoulder. It scared the hell out of her, and she just about hit the ceiling before she slammed back against him.

Flack's hands went to her arms to steady her. "Sorry Stell, that wasn't what I had in mind. You okay?"

She nodded as she turned around. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure? You looked a little lost there for a minute."

He looked so genuinely concerned that she doubted whether she could go through with just accosting him. He really was worried about her, and she decided that maybe the best way to go was to find a happy medium between jumping him and going nuts. "I wasn't thinking about Manes Don." The anger that flashed in his eyes like lightning confirmed all of her suspicions and she reached out to switch off the stove before taking his hand. "I'm doing fine. The knife wound has almost completely healed and I'm well on my way to being okay."

"It still pisses me off Stell, I can't help it."

"I get that, because it still pisses me off too; but you don't have to be so careful with me. I won't fall apart."

"I know you won't," he told her. "I just keep thinking back to that night I confronted you about everything that was going on; how my one hand could span your entire body from hip to hip." He lowered his hand gently to her hips and felt a world of relief when he found he couldn't do the same thing now. "And you're still hurt Stell."

Stella shook her head. "It's almost completely healed. The stitches come out in a few days and I really only cover it up so my clothes don't rub against it." She took his other hand, holding both tightly as she stared into his eyes. "Listen to me Don; I'm fine, and I want you."

"You think I don't want you?"

"No, I know you do. That's what makes it so aggravating."

He laughed. "Only you Stella."

"No dodging the issue." She leaned in to wrap her arms around him, never breaking their eye contact. "This is me laying it all out on the line. My history with men kind of sucks and I've been through a whole hell of a lot more than most women. I have survived every last thing that the world has thrown at me, and some of that has a great deal to do with you. But the past doesn't matter here; nothing matters except you and me. I chose you, I want you, and I swear to God if you don't put your hands on me soon I'm going to explode."

"Stell."

She shook her head again. "No, no more fighting it Don. I know you want this as much as I do."

"I don't want to hurt you."

"What would hurt me the most is if you walked out of here tonight." She leaned up and kissed him gently. When they pulled apart their eyes met again, and she knew exactly what they were saying; she said it out loud anyway. "I need you."

His eyes darkened at the words, and she knew she had gotten through. With a grateful sigh she pressed closer as he took her mouth. The kiss deepened soon after, but still she could feel that his body was tense with restraint. "You won't hurt me."

"I can help but feel like I should be gentle Stell."

"I don't want gentle. Don't hold back Don. Please."

The trust in her eyes battled with desire and it sent him spiraling over the edge. His mouth came down hard over hers and she let out a delighted moan as he pressed her up against the fridge. She wrapped her legs around his waist , her head falling back as his mouth traveled down to her neck. His hands were everywhere, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. The frenzy built faster than they could contain it, and it didn't take long for both to completely let go.

Unsatisfied with his access he spun them around and set her down on the edge of the counter. The second her hands were free they found the hem of his shirt and she all but growled when it caught. When she finally got it off she tossed it carelessly and they both began to fumble with the buttons on her own shirt. It didn't take long for the frustration to win out and he grabbed both sides and ripped the shirt apart. Buttons went flying as hers joined his on the floor, and it wasn't long before her tank top met the same fate.

"Bed," he managed to gasp out in a rare moment when his mouth wasn't otherwise occupied.

Stella shook her head. "No bed. Here." Their eyes locked and she caught her fingers in his belt loops to pull him in. "Now."

In the aftermath they ended up on the living room floor. Stella lay across his chest and neither of them seemed to be able to move. It was only when the cool air began to blow in through her open windows that they did. Even then Don simply cradled her against his chest as he sat up to grab a blanket off of the chair. When it was arranged over them on the floor it struck him that he could have easily moved them both to the couch; then he decided the floor would do until he could feel his fingers and toes again.

"You can't possibly be comfortable," Stella murmured against his chest.

"We'll get up sometime in the next decade. I'll survive until then," he told her before pressing a kiss to her temple.

She was getting sleepy, and as she began to drift she thought back on the day and smiled lazily. "Angell will be so thrilled."

"Huh?"

"She was terrified that you were horrible in bed; said it would have been a total waste."

Flack smiled a bit bemusedly. "Okay."

"She definitely shouldn't have worried about it," she told him.

"My ego appreciates it," he commented.

Stella nodded against his chest. "I can't seem to keep my eyes open ."

"Sleep," he told her, running a hand over her hair. "I'll be here."

"You always are. I think I kind of like it."

As she drifted off Don couldn't help but smile. Years before if someone had described this night to him and told him that Stella would be there with him he would have asked where the hidden cameras were. For years he had dreamed of exactly this, though he would never have admitted it to anyone but Danny. It was very surreal to be living what he had fantasized about for so long, but damn was it fabulous. She was everything he had ever wanted, and as his hand stroked absently up and down her back it firmly set in that he was absolutely head over heels in love with her.

There was a pleasant little ache as he realized it, and he found he really didn't mind at all. Over the years Stella had unknowingly made her way into his heart, and he wondered exactly when she had taken over the whole thing. When they both began to shiver even under the cover of the blanket he decided it was time for bed. She barely stirred when he lifted her, and when he settled them together under the blankets she curled against him without waking. Feeling drained himself, he closed his eyes and just soaked her in.

They woke up hours later and Stella smiled when everything hit her. "Hey," she said.

"Back at ya."

"I feel really fabulous right now."

Her hair was tumbled gloriously around her face, and the eyes that met his were slumberous. "You look fabulous," he told her.

"Good combination." For the second time that night she saw his eyes go dark and felt her heartbeat go wild in response. "Don."

He rose over her and shook his head. "Slow now."

He bent to kiss her slowly, the burn gradually building and devastating her system. She was helpless to stop the tide of emotion and sensation that crashed over her; and as their fingers laced together she discovered that she was powerless to fight the first flicker of love that he sparked in her heart.


	9. Say It Out Loud

When the alarm clock rang shrilly on the bedside table Stella groaned. As happy as she was to be going back to work that day, she'd become accustomed to sleeping in a bit later. Of course it didn't help that the team had gone out the night before to celebrate her return and they hadn't even left the restaurant until after midnight. It also didn't help that she and Flack hadn't actually gone to sleep until two, though she didn't plan on complaining about that anytime in the near future.

With a sigh, she reached over to shut the alarm off. "Don."

"Hmm?" His arms tightened around her, pulling her in closer.

Stella couldn't suppress a smile. "What time does your shift start?" she asked.

"Same as yours," he told her.

"Well we've got less than two hours. I don't suppose you thought to bring a suit and tie over last night?"

He smiled, but he still didn't move or open his eyes. "Oh ye of little faith; they're in the back of the car."

"Aren't you just a perfect little boy scout?" she asked with a laugh. She leaned up and kissed him leisurely before pulling back to look at him. "Unfortunately it doesn't give us any more time before we have to be ready."

Don finally opened his eyes, frowning slightly. "You just dashed so many hopes, you realize that?"

Stella laughed out loud, kissing him quickly before slipping out of bed. "I don't plan on having to explain why we're both late. I'm getting in the shower, you may want to see if there's actually any coffee in the kitchen," she told him, grinning back briefly as she slipped into the bathroom.

It took Flack a few minutes to manage to drag his butt out of bed. When he did, he padded into the kitchen and discovered that Stella's love of tea left her kitchen with very little coffee. As he used the last of it, he made a mental note to bring some over for mornings he was there; then stood there for a minute grinning like an idiot when it hit him that he was likely to be here a lot in the near future, and Stella was likely to be at his place.

At the same moment, Stella was standing under the spray of the shower with a very similar look on her face. Waking up with Don was something she knew she wanted to do for a long while. She was genuinely happy again, both with him and with the fact that she was going back to work. As she silently mused over everything in her life, she leaned into the spray to rinse away the bubbles from her body wash. The door opened and closed quietly, and moments later Don's arms wrapped around her waist; and as she leaned into him she decided it didn't really matter if she had to explain why they were late.

They caught a case less than ten minutes after Stella made it to the lab. Thrilled, and with her adrenaline pumping she met Angell and Hawkes at the scene. After she was welcomed back by everyone there, she and Sheldon got to work processing the scene. A couple of hours later, Stella still hadn't come down from the high that simply being back had given her.

She and Jen were headed back to the station after a very unproductive conversation with their victim's girlfriend when the younger detective looked over and grinned. "Don didn't make it in on time today," she commented.

Stella grinned. "Didn't he?"

"Oh come on Stella. My idea totally worked didn't it? I haven't had a chance to ask until today."

She laughed. "Well, the kiss in the middle of the station certainly had the desired effect."

"I thought so," Jen said smugly.

"But I didn't jump him, not really."

Angell's eyebrows lifted. "Well obviously something happened."

Stella nodded. "He was still worried about me; it took some convincing before he would let go and realize he wouldn't hurt me."

"And….?" She questioned eagerly.

"And you're worries were completely unfounded," she told Angell with a wicked grin. "The last thing anyone would ever say about Don Flack is that he's bad in bed."

She couldn't decide which had a bigger influence on the smile on her face, the fact that she had been right or the deliriously happy grin on Stella's face. "You're both so gone over each other it's almost disgusting," she teased.

"I'm falling for him," Stella told her.

Jen snorted. "Please Stella, you're not just falling you've already hit the ground right on your ass. You're so in love with him it's a wonder you ever quit smiling."

"It's all happened so fast," she commented.

"Has it now?"

Jen's tone was so completely sardonic that it made her laugh. "Okay, so we've been dancing around each other for a while, but we haven't been together that long."

They arrived at the station and Jen shut off the car before turning to look at Stella. "Does it change the way you feel about him?"

Stella's face softened into a smile and she shook her head. "No, it doesn't."

"Then that's all that matters."

Stella had been absolutely ecstatic about getting back to work, but she hadn't been on the job for a month, and she found herself stunned by just how tired she was at the end of the day. Her second day was just as exhausting, but she found her rhythm and when they brought in the man responsible for their victim's death on her third day back she found that she didn't really mind the ache in her feet or the kinks in her neck. Getting back to doing what she loved to do seemed to overtake the fatigue she felt.

One downside was that she and Don had even less time to spend with each other once she was back on the job. It was difficult enough to work around one schedule, but when Stella's was added in it only got worse. They carved out as much time together as they could, but it certainly wasn't easy. Even so, they took what they could, and Stella found herself thinking more and more about just letting Don know exactly what she felt for him. But the more she thought about it, the more she wondered if it was the right thing to do; so she was essentially left immobile as her doubts and desires battled with each other for dominance.

For his part, Flack had decided early on that he wouldn't be the first to say 'I love you'. The last thing he wanted to do was push Stella away, and he feared that if he laid that particular sentiment on her too soon it had the potential to scare her to death. He planned on her being in his life for some time, so it wasn't difficult for him to decide that he would just sit tight until she felt ready to tell him how she felt. He probably would have been struck speechless had he realized she had been contemplating that same thing.

A few weeks after Stella's return to work, Flack woke in the middle of the night and reached for her, frowning when he realized she wasn't there. He didn't panic, though it took a lot of effort not to; though time had passed, the memory of her voice over the phone and her battered body was still vivid in his mind. After a moment of deeper breathing than usual, he climbed out of bed and pulled on his discarded jeans before making his way out of the bedroom.

He found her standing in front of the kitchen window, a kettle that he knew she must have brought over sitting on the stove as she gazed out over the limited view. Even in a pair of baggy sweats and a tank top she took his breath away, but she'd been doing that for so long that it didn't even phase him anymore. As he had almost since the beginning, he wanted her; but he could tell there was something on her mind. So Don came up behind her, careful to make a bit of noise so he didn't frighten her, and slid his arms around her. She didn't say a word, just leaned back against him.

There was something to be said for simply holding someone you loved. For that very reason, Flack was content to just stand there with her as long as she wanted. Stella's mind had been in overdrive when he joined her, but she'd let herself melt into him. The warmth of his bare skin against her back soothed her more than anything else could have, and after a bit she found that her mind had settled enough that she could speak without everything rushing out. "I'm sorry I woke you," she said quietly.

"Don't worry about it. You okay?"

She let her head rest against his shoulder, closing her eyes and just breathing him in. "I couldn't seem to turn my brain off."

"That's not surprising," he said, a smile clear in his voice.

Stella found that she couldn't stop a smile from blossoming. "No I guess it isn't."

"Anything I can do?"

"Just listen."

Don nodded. "I can do that."

So now was the time for her to let all of her fears and worries out. It was never easy to put everything on the line, but she knew he was worth taking the risk. "Sometimes I can't help but wonder when the other shoe is going to drop," she said quietly.

His arms tightened around her, but he managed to do what he'd said he would and just listen. For that she was grateful.

"I didn't take a chance on you Don, because I don't see being with you as a risk. But there are times when I can't control my thought process, and I find myself waiting for something to go wrong, just because it has so often. I've been trying to get myself to the point where I realize that neither of us is going anywhere." Stella turned in his arms, wanting him to see the truth of what she was about to say in her eyes. "I'm falling more in love with you every day and I've got to get to that point so that I don't screw this up."

Nothing had prepared him for what it would feel like to hear Stella tell him that she loved him, and nothing could have. Knowing that they felt the same was completely and utterly amazing, and he found it almost impossible to find any words to match that feeling. "I think I've lost all ability to form a complete sentence," he told her.

"I think that was a complete sentence," she said with a laugh.

"You're right it was, so maybe I can try another one. I'm not sure of the exact moment I fell completely and totally head over heels in love with you, but its nice knowing it's not just me."

She leaned in closer to wrap her arms around his neck. "What is it with us and kitchens?" she asked with a smile.

Don grinned down at her, shaking his head. "I'm not sure, but I'm not going to complain."

"Not planning on it either." Stella tilted her mouth up to his, bringing their lips a breath apart. "So Detective, you going to kiss me or what?"

"Only seems appropriate."

Both were still smiling when their mouths met, but it didn't take long for the humor to melt away to be replaced by something far deeper. Then the kettle whistled and they pulled apart laughing.

Stella slipped out of his arms to move the kettle from the burner and switch off the stove. She wasn't surprised when Flack's arms wrapped around her again, and as she always did, she leaned into him, smiling when he whispered in her ear.

"You know, I think my kitchen deserves the same treatment as yours."


	10. Epilogue

"Please tell me that's the last box or bag I have to carry in here," Flack pleaded, dropping said box on the table and flopping down on the couch.

Stella smiled down at him. "That's the last one, but watch the complaining buster. Whose idea was it to move into another apartment instead of one of the two we already had?" she asked teasingly.

"Yeah, yeah, rub it in," he muttered.

"I will," she said with a grin. "Either way it's all done now and we had more than sufficient help." She leaned down to kiss him. "So quit whining."

One kiss wasn't nearly enough, and he tugged on her hand so she tumbled into his lap. "Do that again before the help gets here."

She leaned down but stopped short when she heard Danny's voice from the doorway. "The help's already here. Do you two have to do that?" he asked, pulling a face when Lindsay smacked him upside the head with the pillow in her hand. "What?" he asked.

"Behave."

Angell walked in behind her and smiled. "I don't know, he may be right." She turned to Stella with a smile. "You two are so adorable it's kind of gross."

"You're one to talk," Flack shot back.

Jen wiggled her fingers to send sparks of light shooting off of the ring on her left hand. "Well yeah, I guess so, but he just did such a good job," she said with a smile.

"And all by himself," Lindsay commented, patting Hawkes on the cheek with a grin as he passed.

"I try." He looked over at Stella and Flack and shook his head. "You know we can be out of here in less than a minute if you two feel like you have to do that right now," Hawkes said before rolling his eyes.

Mac strolled in then with the last of their load and added his two cents. "I believe we were all promised that we'd be fed."

Stella laughed and climbed out of Flack's lap, but not before dropping a quick kiss on his mouth. "That's right, I did promise I'd feed the ravenous hordes after a hard day of manual labor didn't I?"

"Yup," Danny told her. "Thank God you need to be in the kitchen and there won't be any more of all that," he teased, waving his hand between her and Flack. Don and Stella shared a look and he shook his head. "Hey, what did I say about that?"

"Shove it Messer," Flack tossed back, chucking Lindsay's discarded pillow at his head.

Angell blew out a frustrated breath. "Play nice boys."

"Yeah, why don't you all go make yourselves useful and put together that bed that's sitting in there in pieces?" Lindsay asked.

"Why is it that women always want equal treatment when it comes to everything else but when there's heavy lifting you decide to wind the clock back to Victorian England?" Hawkes questioned.

Jen plucked the box from his arms and nudged him towards the bedroom. "It's our feminine right, and we take full advantage of it."

"Plus we like the view," Stella told them without turning from the fridge where she was digging for vegetables.

A couple of hours later they had hot soup and warm bread and all of them were ranged around Stella and Flack's new living room. In the eight months they'd been together they had accumulated a surprising amount of joint purchases, and when Don had suggested they move in together it had made perfect sense to both of them. But they had needed all the help they could get, because two people who had lived alone for as many years as Stella and Flack had an awful lot of crap. Still, it had been fun simply because everyone had been together, and the jokes and stories had been flying back and forth all day.

Now that they were done, the stories had gotten wilder and the jokes progressively dirtier as they all ate. When it started to get late everyone began to trail off, heading home for a night in their own bed before their shifts the next morning. Before long Lindsay and Mac were the only ones left, but they both seemed to be fading fast as they helped clean up.

"Guys we got this," Flack told them. "It's been a long day, you should head home."

"We helped make the mess," Mac told him. "It's not a big deal to help clean it up."

Stella shook her head. "Don't worry about it. We're almost done, and we'll both be running high on adrenaline for a while. We can take care of it."

"Are you sure?" Lindsay asked, smiling when she trailed off with a yawn.

She smiled. "I'm positive."

Mac and Lindsay both collected their jackets and a few minutes later they were out the door. Still, Lindsay poked her head back in. "You guys positive you don't want any help?" She eyed the pile of dishes in the sink warily. "That looks like a lot."

Stella and Flack shared a smile before turning back to her. "One hundred percent positive," Flack told her with a smile.

It seemed her grin just wouldn't go away, so Stella turned it on Lindsay before the younger woman left."I swear it's perfectly fine. Don and I don't mind working in the kitchen."

"Not a bit," he added.

Lindsay's eyes traveled back and forth between them for a moment before she nodded. "Okay, I just don't want to know, and I will see you tomorrow," she said, closing the door behind her.

Don turned to Stella with a smile. "I love them all but I thought they would never leave."

"Me too," she conceded, stepping into the circle of his arms to kiss him languidly.

"You honestly plan on us _working_ in the kitchen?" he asked skeptically.

When she smiled up at him she look downright sinful. "What do you think?"

"I think I really love the kitchen," he told her.

She nodded, pulling him closer by a fist full of his t-shirt. "I know I do."

Note From The Author—I really couldn't think of a better place to leave it, and I just couldn't resist keeping the kitchen joke going. I hope you've enjoyed this story; I think it may be my favorite of all the one's I've written. Thanks for all of your reviews.


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